Goodbye 2019!!!
This is the third year we have hosted this event. We noticed another event and loved the idea so much that we duplicated the event for fellow cachers and friends in Salt Lake County. I contacted the original event coordinator, Mountain Hobbit, and the CO agreed that I could 'borrow' the idea and hold a similar event.
Another year has passed and it has been full of great geocaching. Let's start 2020 off right. We will meet at 10 am on the morning of December 31st, have some snacks, trade stories, TBs, etc and then move on with the "gift exchange." You show up and sign the log or hide a gift for someone to find, you can log attended. There is no obligation to buy anything (food, drink, etc.) offered by the venue.
Feel free to dress up in festive holiday attire, hats, shirts, scarves... we will take some pictures.
Now, to avoid plagarism, I attribute the following rules to MountainHobbit... We will follow the same guidelines. The only thing I have changed from the original rules is the wording of Christmas to festive and the actual cache hiding location.
"If you want to participate in the gift exchange, please read the rules below carefully so we all have fun and no one is disappointed.
GIFT EXCHANGE GUIDELINES
For the gift exchange, first put a small gift in a suitable (but cheap) caching container and hide it somewhere in Salt Lake City, UT. The boundaries are South of 900 South, North of I-215, East of 500 East, and Wast of the foothills. The image below is a small map. Click on it to enlarge.
Let's keep the location accessible without special equipment or waiting for a thaw. Suggestions include gift cards, unactivated geocoins, fun swag items, cache containers, Christmas cookies or fudge... just something around $15-$20 in value. (If you want to hide food, that's fine--just make sure the container is waterproof and animal proof--and will thaw out nicely) Record the coordinates where you hid your gift. This is temporary, so don't put it in a current cache, and don't submit it for review as a potential cache.
Write your gift's coordinates into a festive card, seal it in an envelope and bring it to the event. We suggest adding your geocaching name and phone number in case your gift recipient needs a little help finding their New Year's Cache. At the event, those who put a card into the kitty will be able to pick one out after we mix them all up. It's a one-to-one exchange, on coordinate per festive card, so bring separate coordinates in separate envelopes to trade for each member of your group who wants to seek a hidden gift. Naturally, make sure to first hide a gift at each coordinate you bring!
Once the event is over, we will all dash away to find our New Year's caches. Once you find yours, take the whole thing away--container and all. It's yours!
When you submit your event "find" online, please thank the cacher who hid your Christmas cache. Feel free to share what is was, if you like, as well as any photo, even one of the cache location, since this is not a regular cache hide.
Email or message me if you have any questions concerning the rules.